


The Message

by Lennelle



Series: Next of Kin [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Post-Purgatory Dean Winchester, Post-Season/Series 07 AU, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Jody Mills, Sam Winchester and Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10071581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lennelle/pseuds/Lennelle
Summary: It starts with a message on the answering machine.





	

It starts with a message on the answering machine.

Actually, that comes second. It actually starts with Sam having a relapse. He'd been living with Jody for two months, released from hospital in April, before things went tits up and she had to take him back again. It's been three weeks since then, with little improvement. Jody isn't sure what triggered it, just that one morning Sam was sitting on the front lawn in nothing but boxers mumbling about monsters and black goo and empty labs, and other horrifying things she doesn't want to think about, and there was nothing she could do to snap him out of it.

The message is there when she comes home from visiting Sam. He hasn't been up for any real conversation, too busy trying to prove to her that his doctor is a demon and that there's blood in his pills. It's like there's been no improvement, like those days he'd lived with her had never happened. And nothing had happened, as far as Jody knew. He was taking his medication and attending therapy and she'd done her best to keep anything negative out of his line of sight. When she asked the doctor about it he said, "Setbacks happen, it's all a part of the recovery process. Sometimes, things suddenly get worse with no real explanation. The mind is a complicated thing."

Then, she went to where Sam had been confined to his room for throwing a board game across the rec room. He said, "Did you see his eyes? Did you see his eyes, Jody? They were black. Black hole. They're trying to poison me, Jody! Don't let them. Let them in and I'll be a goner. I need salt. Lots of it."

He was still rambling on about the same things when visiting hours were over. At that point, she couldn't stop herself from pulling him into a hug, but Sam didn't seem to notice, he was too busy talking.

"Dean will come. He'll be here. He'll kill the demons and - and... I'll go to the library to read up on the history of this place."

Jody pushed a strand of unwashed hair behind his ear. "Sam, you have to stay here, remember? You're safe here. No one here is trying to hurt you," she said.

Sam's eyes were far away. "Stay here... like a cage. Like _the_ cage. Do you have any idea what he _did_ to me?"

She'd had to leave right after that, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't happy to go. She loves Sam, she loves going to see him, spending time with him, but sometimes it's a relief to get away from him when he's like this.

She gets home to find three messages on her answering machine. She clicks _play_ and begins rifling through the fridge for something to eat for dinner.

_"Hey, Jody. This is Mel from work. I just wanted to know if you're coming to the staff night. I'm about to book a restaurant and I need to know how many seats we need. Thanks!"_

Jody pauses. She'd completely forgotten about the staff night. The machine clicks as it moves onto the next message.

_"Hello, Sheriff. Tom from the garage here. Just wanted to let you know that the part you were asking after has come into stock. Feel free to pop down during business hours to pick it up. See you soon."_

She finds the bowl of salad left over from last night at the back of the fridge and pulls it out.

_"Jody, it's Dean - "_

The bowl smashes to pieces on the kitchen floor, tiny shards scattering all across the room. She hurries back into the living room and stares at the answering machine.

 _" - It's been a long time, huh? Well, I've kind of been... away for a while. I just got back and I'm looking for Sammy, checking in on anyone who might know where he is. If you know where he is... tell him I'm okay. And call me on the number I'm phoning you from."_ There's a nervous chuckle. _"Okay, I've been back a couple of weeks now, don't ask where I've been because it's a long ass story, anyway I'll admit I'm kind of going out of my mind with worry here. I tried all of Sam's cells and there's no answer, half of them have been disconnected, and there's no sign of him at our usual meeting points. Even if you don't know where he is, could you keep a look out?"_

He heaves a deep sigh.

_"So, yeah. I'm in Whitefish, Montana. Call me if you hear anything."_

The machine goes silent.

For a long while she just stands there. This isn't the first time she's seen someone come back from the dead. She knows resurrection is dangerous. There might even be a chance that this isn't Dean, it could be a shapeshifter, or something else monstrous, trying to find Sam. No way. Not if she can help it.

But what if it is Dean?

She replays the message five times. It certainly _sounds_ like Dean, but that doesn't really mean anything, does it? There are all kinds of things that can imitate people's voices.

It takes a little over two hours before she makes the decision to call him back.

* * *

Dean Winchester, or something that looks a lot like him, leans against the hood of a stolen 1980 Camero. He looks up when he sees her approaching and breaks out into a grin, arms open. Before he can get even within a meter of her he is sopping wet, spitting out a mouthful of holy water.

"Not a demon," he says.

She raises one eyebrow and pulls a silver knife from a strap on the back of her belt. He takes it from her and makes the cut himself, right below his elbow. It bleeds cleanly, the flesh around it doesn't sizzle.

"Not a shapeshifter either," he says, rolling his eyes like he's been through this a million times before. "Anything else you want to throw at me?"

She hands over a bottle of Borax.

"Leviathans are all gone," he says.

"Can't be too safe," Jody counters. He pours a good measure of it over his hand with no effect. It's like a huge weight has come off her shoulders, and she pulls him down into a hug despite how wet he is, gripping the back of his jacket like a life line.

"I thought you were dead!"

"Not quite."

She pulls away and looks him in the eye. He looks different. He seems harder, if it's even possible. Since she's known the Winchesters, they've always been these giant men, seemingly made of stone. You'd have to be if you did what they do for a living.

"What happened to you?" she finally asks, one hand on his shoulder just to make sure she isn't imagining all of this.

"I killed Dick Roman."

" _Dick Roman?"_

"Well, the real Dick was long gone before we got there. It was the Leviathan boss dressed up as him. Anyway, I killed him and kinda got sucked into Purgatory."

"Purgatory... like from the bible?"

"Not quite. It's the afterlife for monsters. It's non-stop in there, I can tell you that," he says, laughing almost nervously.

She smiles at him. "I'm glad you're okay," she says, then takes a deep breath. Dean is staring at her expectantly. She finally tells him, "Sam is here. He's alive."

Dean glances around. "He's in Sioux Falls? Where is he?"

Here it is. Jody's been running through this conversation in her head over and over. It's been two days since she first heard Dean's voicemail, and Sam has shown no improvement. She hasn't told Sam about any of it. If it was just a monster pretending to be Dean, why should she worry Sam about it? Now, she'll have to tell him Dean's alive, right after she's told Dean what happened to Sam.

"Sam is in a psychiatric hospital, has been for most of this last year," she says, getting straight to the point.

Dean is quiet for a moment. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he settles on saying, "What?"

"I got a call about a year ago that he'd been admitted to a hospital for strange behaviour. He was trying to perform some kind of ritual in public. At first, I thought maybe he just got himself into trouble, but he's really sick, Dean. I had him moved to a closer facility so I could keep an eye on him. He'd been doing well for a while, even came to live with me for a few weeks, but things aren't so good right now."

Dean frowns. "Wait. Sammy was cured. Cas fixed up his brain. This has to be a mistake, like a - a spell or something."

"Dean, it's mental illness. There's no magic cure for this."

"But he was _okay._ Cas fixed him."

"Cas is your angel friend?" Jody guesses.

"Yeah. He's - he's gone now."

Jody nods respectfully. "Come on," she says gently. "Let's go see Sam."


End file.
